Former ARM CEO Joins Micron

LONDON – Micron Technology Inc. announced last week the appointment of Warren East to the board of directors. East served as the CEO of processor IP licensor ARM Holdings plc, based in Cambridge, England, from October 2001 to July 1, 2013.

The announcement did not indicate East would have any executive responsibility at Micron. Previously, East had told EE Times he expects to take up a few semiconductor company directorships as well as become involved in UK government initiatives to encourage electronics and technology startups.

East began his own electronics career with Texas Instruments Inc. in the UK before joining ARM in 1994 soon after the Cambridge firm was formed. He served as vice president of business development, chief operating officer, and then CEO.

"Warren transformed ARM during his tenure as CEO, and we are confident his contributions will strengthen our board," said Mark Durcan, CEO of Micron, in the press release.

"With the acquisition of Elpida, Micron is well-positioned to be a growing, dynamic leader in semiconductor memory and a critical contributor to the success of customers in the storage, mobile and computing markets," said East.

At the time of the announcement of East's departure from ARM, there was some tongue-in-cheek speculation that he might take up the CEO's position at Intel, an arch-rival to ARM, then being vacated by Paul Otellini. By joining the board of Micron Technology, East has got closer to Intel as Micron has always been close to its fellow US company and has a joint venture with Intel called IM Flash Technologies LLC in Lehi, Utah.

I would put an FPGA company on my high odds list. With all of them going the ARM route now for their SoC FPGAs it would seem to be a natural fit. One of the challenge for these companies is how to differentiate themselves and which market segments to go after. He could help with that...

Now the question is, which one? I would bet on brand A (not brand X) since brand A has some catch-up work to do...